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Monday, March 7, 2011

ICC Cricket World Cup - The 6 Teams & 12 Players to Watch Out For

By Carl Jaison

It can’t get any bigger than this. 14 teams fight it out to grab hold of that one coveted trophy: The ICC Cricket World Cup. The preparations, of all the 14 teams, leading to this mega event has been pretty good . The target of each team would be to reach Mumbai, which hosts the WC Final and grasp hold of the biggest prize in cricket. Here is a quick analysis on the top 6 teams who will be fighting for realizing one single dream - the ICC Cricket World Cup.

SOUTH AFRICA

The South Africans go into this World cup as one of the prime contenders and this time around they would surely like to live to the expectations of their fans back home. Needless to say, the South Africans hold the dubious record of faltering in big events, something they need to improve on. They have been given the unique tag of - ‘The Chokers’. They are a tough team to play against and they showed that with a thumping win over the Windies in their first match of this edition. Historically, South Africa has heavily depended on their pace bowlers to make a mark. But, against the Windies they showed a change in strategy by fielding 3 regular spinners reflecting their tactical and clever approach of team selection. They still have fiery pace bowlers in their ranks and the spinners too showed why they are no pushovers. Definitely the team to beat!

Captain:

Graeme Smith
Players to watch out for:

AB De Villiers, Faf Du Plessiss
Strengths:

Experienced batting line-up and a brilliant pace attack.
Weakness:

May find acclimatization difficult and loses track in big games.

AUSTRALIA

The Australians began their campaign as the No.1 ODI side. But this Aussie outfit isn’t like the previous golden generation of the Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist etc. But Australia, still and will, always remain a tough opponent to beat considering their fabulous record in World Cups. They have remained unbeaten in their last 31 WC encounters and that itself will bring shivers down the spines of many a team. They are the defending champs for the third time in a row having won the 1999, 2003 and 2007 World cups. Australia comes into this event on the backdrop of a 6-1 drubbing over England at home. If they can put their act together ,there is no reason why they can’t do it again.

Captain:

Ricky Ponting
Players to watch out for:

Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson
Strengths:

Comes in with a good reputation making them a very dangerous unit. Can spring a surprise through their pace bowling department having the likes of Lee, Johnson and Tait.
Weakness:

Lack of a full-fledged spin department.

INDIA

Many feel this is India’s best chance to win back the cup for the second time, having won the 1983 edition. Bolstered by a team having the likes of Tendulkar, and Sehwag, Indians are feeling that this time around its now or never. Arguably, the most talented lot of this WC, the team would love to get hold of that trophy for their die-hard fans. Indians were off to a good start with 2 convincing warm-up victories against the mighty Aussies and New Zealand. A co-host, along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, India will be assisted by the spin-friendly tracks of the sub-continent and being good players of spin, they pose a big threat to any team facing off with them.

Captain:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Players to watch out for:

Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli
Strengths:

Batting is India’s strength. They have the ability to post huge totals batting first and each player is a potential match winner. Crowd support will come in handy.
Weakness:

A rusty pace-bowling unit and inability to chase down mammoth totals are a cause of worry.

SRI LANKA

A team having the likes of Muralitharan, Jayawardena, aand Malinga are definitely a team to reckon with. They are the runners-up of the 2007 WC and will surely want to reach out for glory in this edition. Lankans are a good fielding unit too which gives them an edge over their rivals. There is no lack of experience in this team and having world class play in their ranks, the Sri Lankans are out to prove their critics wrong. Probable semi-finalists, the Lankans are a tough team to beat in their own den.

Captain:

Kumar Sangakkara
Players to watch out for:

Lasith Malinga, Tilakertane Dilshan
Strengths:

They have a deep batting line-up and a very good spin attack which can effectively utilize juicy, turning wickets.
Weakness:

Like every other subcontinent team, Sri Lanka too face problems of chasing down mighty scores. Their middle-order needs to fire to ensure a smooth entry into the final stages of the WC.

ENGLAND

The English are a much more confident squad which they proved by drawing a nail-biting , cliff-hanger of a game against favourites India. The game showed that the England team can fight till the finish and can play around their charismatic skipper Andrew Strauss, who proved his mettle by scoring a breath-taking 158 in quick time. They are touted as the dark horse of this WC and their job is pretty clear and simple: upsetting the top teams. They were beaten by Australia in a bilateral series (6-1), leading to the WC, but every team realises that the score-line can’t be taken into much of an account considering their energetic and positive start to this mega event.

Captain:

Andrew Strauss
Players to watch out for:

Kevin Pietersen, Tim Bresnan
Strengths:

Showed that they can chase down huge targets and have the players who are capable of playing long innings, someone like a Jonathan Trott.
Weakness:

The English have been poor on the field letting go off practically sitters. Their bowling too needs to click as they have been hit for more than 250 runs in back-to-back matches, even by minnows Netherlands.

PAKISTAN

Controversies, Match fixing and allegations have been following Pakistani Cricket ever since the dark age of cricket. But, on the cricketing aspect, Pakistan are firm favourites to lift the ICC Cricket World Cup. By beating Sri Lanka in the latter’s den is not a piece of cake and this has sent out a strong message to all those who dream of holding aloft the prized possession. Pakistan was a prospective co-host but political unrest back home has resulted the ICC to strip them off match rights. Solely for this reason , ‘the bad boys of cricket’ will want to win the trophy for their cricket-frenzy fans back home in Pakistan. They have the ability to go all the way and the team would love to restore international cricket back in Pakistan . One way of doing this is to win back the heart of the ICC and the millions back home.

Captain:

Shahid Afridi
Players to watch out for:

Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi
Strengths:

Batting prowess is Pakistan’s key to success. They play by their cricket fearlessly thereby creating the possibilities of causing huge upsets.
Weakness:

The opening slot has been where Pakistan has juggled with the most, trying out more than 10 different players in the past year or so. Pakistan’s complacency may lead to their downfall too.